Priorities for EU development aid

The European Consensus on Development identifies a number of key areas in which the European Commission has a relative advantage in undertaking cooperation with third countries. These priorities are identified through an in-depth dialogue with partner countries on the basis of a joint analysis and in such a way as to ensure complementarity with other donors, in particular with Member States, and are briefly described below.

Progress in the protection of human rights, good governance and democratisation is fundamental for poverty reduction and sustainable development. All people should enjoy all human rights in line with international agreements. The Community will on this basis promote the respect for human rights of all people in cooperation with both states and non-state actors in partner countries. The Community will actively seek to promote human rights as an integral part of participatory in-country dialogue on governance. Fostering good governance requires a pragmatic approach based on the specific context of each country. The Community will actively promote a participatory in-country dialogue on governance, in areas such as anti-corruption, public sector reform, access to justice and reform of the judicial system. This is essential to building country-driven reform programmes in a context of accountability and an institutional environment that upholds human rights, democratic principles and the rule of law.

The Community human development policy framework for health, education, culture and gender equality aims at improving peoples' lives in line with the MDGs through action at global and country level. It will be driven by the principle of investing in and valuing people, promoting gender equality and equity. The MDGs cannot be attained without progress in achieving the goal of universal sexual and reproductive health and rights as set out in the ICPD Cairo Agenda. To confront the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria in developing countries, a roadmap for joint EU actions on the European Programme for Action will be developed. The Community will support the full implementation of strategies to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights and will link the fight against HIV/AIDS with support for reproductive and sexual health and rights. The Community will also address the exceptional human resource crisis of health providers, fair financing for health and strengthening health systems in order to promote better health outcomes, making medicines more affordable for the poor. MDG-related performance indicators will be strengthened to better link sector and budget support to MDG progress and to ensure adequate funding for health and education.

The Community will promote a sustainable transport sectoral approach. This approach will be based on the principles of partner country ownership and prioritisation through poverty reduction or equivalent strategies, meeting partner countries' needs, ensuring transport safety, affordability, efficiency and minimising negative effects on the environment. It applies a strategy for delivering transport that is economically, financially, environmentally and institutionally sustainable.

The Community, within the respective competences of its institutions, will develop a comprehensive prevention approach to state fragility, conflict, natural disasters and other types of crises. In this, the Community will assist partner countries' and regional organizations' efforts to strengthen early warning systems and democratic governance and institutional capacity building.. The Community will also, in close cooperation and coordination with existing structures of the Council, improve its own ability to recognize early signs of state fragility through improved joint analysis, and joint monitoring and assessments of difficult, fragile and failing states with other donors. It will actively implement the OECD principles for good international engagement in fragile states in all programming.

Agriculture and rural development are crucial for poverty reduction and growth. To re-launch investment in these areas, the Community will support country-led, participatory, decentralised and environmentally sustainable territorial development, aimed at involving beneficiaries in the identification of investments and the management of resources in order to support the emergence of local development clusters, while respecting the capacity of eco-systems. For results to be sustainable it is essential to promote a coherent and conducive policy environment on all levels. The Community will continue to work to improve food security at international, regional and national level. It will support strategic approaches in countries affected by chronic vulnerability. Focus will be on prevention, safety nets, improving access to resources, the quality of nutrition and capacity development. Particular attention will be paid to transition situations and to the effectiveness of emergency aid.

In the context of poverty eradication, the Community aims to prevent social exclusion and to combat discrimination against all groups. It will promote social dialogue and protection, in particular to address gender inequality, the rights of indigenous peoples and to protect children from human trafficking, armed conflict, the worst forms of child labour and discrimination and the condition of disabled people. Social and fiscal policies to promote equity will be supported. Priority actions will include support for social security and fiscal reforms, corporate social responsibility, pro-poor growth and employment. Employment is a crucial factor to achieve a high level of social cohesion. The Community will promote investments that generate employment and that support human resources development. In this respect the Community will promote decent work for all in line with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) agenda.

The Community will support the efforts undertaken by its partner countries to incorporate environmental considerations into development, and help increase their capacity to implement multilateral environmental agreements. The Community will give particular attention to initiatives ensuring the sustainable management and preservation of natural resources, including as a source of income, and as a means to safeguard and develop jobs, rural livelihoods and environmental goods and services. To this end it will encourage and support national and regional strategies; it will also take part in and contribute to European or global initiatives and organisations. A stronger support to the implementation of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity will help to halt biodiversity loss and promote biosafety and sustainable management of biodiversity. As far as desertification control and sustainable land management are concerned, the Community will focus on the implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification through effective mainstreaming of sustainable land management issues in developing countries' strategies. As regards sustainable forest management, the Community will support efforts on combating illegal logging and will give particular attention to implementation of Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT).

The Community will assist developing countries on trade and regional integration through fostering, equitable and environmentally sustainable growth, smooth and gradual integration into the world economy, and linking trade and poverty reduction or equivalent strategies. The priorities in this area are institutional and capacity building to design and effectively implement sound trade and integration policies, as well as support for the private sector to take advantage of new trading opportunities.

The Community 'integrated water resources management' policy framework aims at ensuring a supply of sufficient, good quality drinking water, adequate sanitation and hygiene to every human being, in line with the MDGs and the targets from Johannesburg. Further, it aims at establishing a framework for long term protection of all water resources, preventing further deterioration and promoting sustainable water use.



Sources and useful links:

• Please visit the "what we do" section of the EuropeAid website to find detailed information and key working documents on each of the EC thematic priorities for development aid.